I Only Ask For Mercy
by Magical Dog Girl
Summary: Ellen was born with an illness that prevented her from living life fully. When she makes a deal with Bill Cipher, her parents go missing, she becomes friends with a ghost, and meets two mystery-solving twins. Maybe being sick was better than this... Rated T for violence and language. Heavily inspired by the RPGMaker game "The Witch's House."
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello all! Welcome to my second story "I Only Ask For Mercy"! This story is heavily inspired by "The Witch's House". Please enjoy the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Gravity Falls or any of its characters.**

 **Prologue: Bless Your Soul, Curse Your Soul**

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My mother once told me there was a man named God. She said he loved everyone and punished wrongdoers. I asked her if I had done anything wrong. She didn't answer.

My parents went to an old woman when I was much younger. The woman didn't seem to like me, for she glared at the sight of me. The woman told my parents I was cursed, that I was being punished for an unholy doing of one of my ancestors. I asked my father what that meant. He didn't look at me.

I was confined to my bed, but no one forced me to. I figured it would've been better for my parents if I stayed in my room and didn't complain when my mother's medicine tasted like mud that a dog had vomited. I behaved well, so why is God punishing me?

I began to question what I had been told. Did God really love everyone? That seemed like an exaggeration. What had I done wrong? I didn't understand it.

Then he came.

"Yeesh." The man said, taking in the sight of my inflamed legs and face. "You're pretty roughed up, kid."

"Who are you?" I asked in my voice, sore and rough from lack of use. "How'd you get in here?"

"Name's Bill Cipher, kid!" The man greeted. "And for how I got in… Well, that's not important. What _is_ important is you need some help!" I looked away. This man, this Bill Cipher, was certainly strange. "So, how's about you and me make a deal!" I looked back at him. A deal? My eyes looked towards the metal cross above my window, then back at him.

"What kind of," I coughed. "deal?"

"Well…" he paused, as though he were thinking. "I'll give you your health, and in return… You get me a vessel!" A vessel? Like, a container? "Exactly like a container!" I paused. "Yes, I can read your mind." I looked down.

"How can I get you a vessel?" I asked.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Bill smirked. "Someone will come along _very_ soon." He paused, slightly frowning. "I would prefer a male vessel, but the one that's coming will do." I wondered what he could mean. Did he mean he wanted a human body? His hand flew up into blue flames. "So, what do you say? Deal?" I paused, considering the flames. "Don't worry. They don't hurt." I wasted no time in agreeing. I hated this broken body, I hated not being able to go outside, and, dare I say it, I hated my parents.

 _"Deal."_

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My parents didn't visit me the day after. I heard no sound outside my room. Did they leave me? I suppose it was going to happen eventually. I was completely useless and a burden to them. Bill stayed for a while, and I felt like asking him to check if my parents were still here, but decided against it. He wasn't my servant. If anything, it felt like he was my savior.

Someone did come after a few days, and I was surprised I was still alive by then. It was a girl with cute blonde braids. She came in, hearing rumors about an abandoned house in the forest where I lived. Her friends dared her to come here. At least, that's what Bill told me. When she came to my room, she screamed, not expecting to see a body. When I moved, she passed out.

"Good work, kid!" Bill praised. I was about to protest, seeing as how I didn't really do anything, until Bill snapped his fingers. My legs and face didn't feel flaming. Upon further observation, my legs looked… normal. When I looked up to thank Bill, he was gone and the girl was awake.

"Bill?" I asked, not noticing the girls eyes.

"Right here, Kitty!" I looked to the new voice. It was the girl. "Thanks for the vessel!"

"You…" I paused, trying to register what happened. "You… possessed her?"

"If you want to put it that way, yes." Bill shrugged. "And you should be better now. So, you can help me with my plans!"

"Plans?" I don't remember being informed of any plan.

"We'll work out the details later." Bill said quickly. "Come on." He took my hand, helping me stand.

"Where are we going?" I asked, stumbling as he led me out of my house.

"You know that town nearby?" He asked. "The one called Gravity Falls?" I nodded, caught up in the feeling of the grass under my bare feet. "We're going there!" I followed him to a road.

"What are we going to do there?"

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you Ellen?" I didn't respond, for I suddenly felt tired. I let go of his hand and collapsed onto the dirt. "Ellen?" His voice seemed distant. The last thing I thought, was to God, if he existed, thanking him for Bill.

"Man, you messed me up, Ellen." A heard a girl's voice. I looked around the darkness until I saw the girl Bill possessed. Her blue eyes stabbed at me with a knife of hatred.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice shaky.

"I'm Viola." Viola sighed. "Thanks for getting me possessed and scaring me half to death, by the way." Her voice was sarcastic and cold.

"Why are you here?" I asked again.

"You made one hell of a mistake, Ellen." Viola shook her head, her braids swishing from side to side.

"What did I do?"

"You made a deal with the devil."

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 **A/N: There's our prologue! I hope you all enjoyed! If you have ideas you want to see, please let me know! See you!**


	2. Chapter 1: Blood Legs

**A/N: Hey everybody! Welcome to the next part of "I Only Ask For Mercy"! I hope you enjoy this chapter, too!**

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 **Chapter One: Blood Legs**

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When I awoke, I found myself in an old bed in what appeared to be an attic. I sat up, remembering what happened and moved my hand as if to reassure myself I wasn't dreaming. I healed, yes, but at what cost? Viola didn't seem too pleased at what happened, but I wouldn't be happy either.

"Oh, good." I jumped at Viola's voice. "You're up." I looked, half expecting to see Bill, but got a surprise when I saw a transparent figure of Viola floating next to the bed. "They've been waiting for freaking ever for you!"

"Who's 'they'?" I asked, moving to get out of the bed. Viola rolled her eyes.

"That demon and the people who were kind enough to let you stay here, moron." She put her hands on her hips.

"Well, excuse me, princess." I stuck my tongue out and stood. I moved my legs around, pacing back and forth, excited that I could walk normally. Viola watched for a minute, until she got bored.

"Shouldn't you go downstairs?" She spoke with a sort of annoyance in her voice. "Y'know? So they know you're okay." I stopped, then looked at the wooden door.

"Yeah, sure." I walked to the door and turned the handle, stopping a moment to savor the feeling of the cold metal on my palm before opening the door. I looked down the steps, then carefully placed my bare foot on the first step.

"You're not gonna fall down the damn stairs, woman!" Viola scowled from behind. "Just go!" I looked back, not saying anything. "What?" I shook my head, then turned back to the stairs. Viola wasn't pleasant to be around, and I didn't want to try and make conversation with her. Cautious, I descended the stairs, some steps creaking under my weight.

As I reached the bottom steps, I heard some voices I couldn't recognize. I stepped out from around the corner and saw some children about my age. A boy and a girl, presumably twins, were talking to Bill in Viola's body. Viola scoffed from behind me. "Hey, Ellen!" Bill called in Viola's voice. He walked over to me and put an arm around my shoulders, hugging me in a one-armed hug.

"Are you okay, Ellen?" The boy asked. "Viola told us you passed out for no reason."

"Yeah…" I nodded. These two had no idea who Viola really was. "I'm okay." Bill tightened his grip around me.

"You should thank them, y'know." Bill grinned. "After all, they _are_ letting us stay here until we find your parents." I faltered slightly. My parents were still missing, and I had no idea where they were.

"Yeah." I looked to the twins. "Thank you…" I trailed off, not knowing their names.

"I'm Mabel!" The girl introduced. "That's my brother, Dipper." She elbowed the boy, who flinched before giving a playful glare at his sister.

"I'm Ellen." I greeted. Dipper smiled.

"Yeah, we know." I gave a small smile of my own. A gruff voice came from behind the twins.

"Is that weird girl awake yet?" An older man asked. He looked at Bill and I. "Nice to meet'cha!" He said to me. "I already met your friend, Viola. Who are you?"

"I'm Ellen, sir." I smiled politely. My parents always pressed the importance of respect to my elders. "Nice to meet you." The man laughed.

"Finally, someone with manners!" He smiled, then tipped the strange hat on his head. "Call me Mr. Pines. Or Man of Mystery! Whatever suits you!"

"Okay, Mr. Pines." I nodded to show my understanding. Bill rolled his eyes.

"Since when were you this formal, Ellen?" He asked as though he'd known me for years.

"Since my parents told me to respect my elders, _Arschloch_." I stuck my tongue out at him, going along with his play-pretend. Bill looked a little shocked at what I had called him, perhaps because I had the nerve to do so. Viola snickered from behind us.

" _Oszukać_." She sniggered. I wasn't sure what that word meant, but it did seem like an insult. I couldn't tell whether it was directed at me or Bill. Bill shrugged off our words and playfully slugged me in the shoulder.

"Hey!" I protested. "Still healing, remember?"

"Right, right." He rolled his eyes, then gave the strangest blink I'd ever seen. He closed one eye at a time. Weirdo…

"So, Ellen." Dipper spoke up. "Where did you last see your parents?" I paused, trying to remember.

"The last time I saw them…" I mused. "I was at home. My mother left my room, and… I didn't see them after that." Dipper paused, giving a thoughtful 'hmm.' I glanced over at Bill and saw the expression everyone else seemed to ignore.

He knew.

He knew where my parents were. He knew what he'd done to Viola. In fact, he could probably see Viola, too. I felt an anger boil in my chest, a righteous, vicious rage, but then I remembered.

I have no right to be angry at all.

I asked for this. I asked to be healed. Viola's body was the price to be paid. This was certainly going to come back and bite me in the face, but I didn't care. I was mobile. I could walk, run, throw things, lift my arms… I could things normal people could. On impulse, I ran past the twins to the outside. "Ellen?" Mabel called once she had realized what I'd done.

"Ellen?" Bill asked. "What are you doing?" I didn't answer. My red dress flowed around me as I spun and danced in the grass outside of the building. My smile must've covered my entire face. My laughter rang out and echoed in the trees. I lost my balanced and fell, but that was irrelevant to me.

I could feel the dirt get in my skin and hair. I could feel the grass poke at my legs. For the first time I looked up at the starry sky. The only emotion I felt was thankfulness.

I was thankful I was alive. I was thankful I could move. I was thankful for Bill.

God, if such a being existed, was surely amazing.

I sat up and looked at my legs, then at the open door where Viola's ghost stood. She was a grim reminder of what I had received.

My legs were like blood money.

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 **A/N: Sorry if this chapter dragged on a little. They might be that way until I figure out which direction I want the story to go. Thank you all for being patient with me! Hope you enjoyed!**

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 **Some translations!**

 **Arschloch - German for "asshole"**

 **Oszukać - Polish for "fool"**


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